Luís F. G. Martins

Systems involving hydrogenated and fluorinated chains: volumetric properties of perfluoroalkanes and perfluoroalkylalkane surfactants.

As part of a combined experimental and theoretical study of the thermodynamic properties of perfluoroalkylalkanes (PFAAs), the liquid density of perfluorobutylpentane (F4H5), perfluorobutylhexane (F4H6), and perfluorobutyloctane (F4H8) was measured as a function of temperature from 278.15 to 353.15 K and from atmospheric pressure to 70 MPa. The liquid densities of n-perfluoropentane, n-perfluorohexane, n-perfluorooctane, and n-perfluorononane were also measured at room pressure over the same temperature range. The PVT behavior of the PFAAs was also studied using the SAFT-VR equation of state. The PFAA molecules were modeled as heterosegmented diblock chains, using different parameters for the alkyl and perfluoroalkyl segments, that were developed in earlier work. Through this simple approach, we are able to predict the thermodynamic behavior of the perfluoroalkylalkanes, without fitting to any experimental data for the systems being studied. Molecular dynamics simulations have also been performed and used to calculate the densities of the perfluoroalkylalkanes studied.

Viscosity of liquid perfluoroalkanes and perfluoroalkylalkane surfactants.

As part of a systematic study of the thermophysical properties of two important classes of fluorinated organic compounds (perfluoroalkanes and perfluoroalkylalkanes), viscosity measurements of four n-perfluoroalkanes and five perfluoroalkylalkanes have been carried out at atmospheric pressure and over a wide range of temperatures (278-353 K). From the experimental results the contribution to the viscosity from the CF(2) and CF(3) groups as a function of temperature have been estimated. Similarly, the contributions for CH(2) and CH(3) groups in n-alkanes have been determined using literature data. For perfluoroalkylalkanes, the viscosity results were interpreted in terms of the contributions of the constituent CF(2), CF(3), CH(2), and CH(3) groups, the deviations from ideality on mixing hydrogenated and fluorinated chains, and the contribution due to the formation of the CF(2)-CH(2) bond. A standard empirical group contribution method (Sastri-Rao method) has also been used to estimate the viscosities of the perfluoroalkylalkanes. Finally, to obtain molecular level insight into the behavior of these molecules, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations have been performed and used to calculate the densities and viscosities of the perfluoroalkylalkanes studied. Although both quantities are underestimated compared to the experimental data, with the viscosities showing the largest deviations, the trends observed in the experimental viscosities are captured.

Liquid Mixtures Involving Hydrogenated and Fluorinated Chains: (p, ρ, T, x) Surface of (Ethanol + 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol), Experimental and Simulation

The effect of mixing hydrogenated and fluorinated molecules that simultaneously interact through strong hydrogen bonding was investigated: (ethanol + 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol) binary mixtures were studied both experimentally and by computer simulation. This mixture displays a very complex behavior when compared with mixtures of hydrogenated alcohols and mixtures of alkanes and perfluoroalkanes. The excess volumes are large and positive (unlike those of mixtures of hydrogenated alchools), while the excess enthalpies are large and negative (contrasting with those of mixtures of alkanes and perfluoroalkanes). In this work, the liquid density of the mixtures was measured as a function of composition, at several temperatures from 278.15 to 353.15 K and from atmospheric pressure up to 70 MPa. The corresponding excess molar volumes, compressibilities, and expansivities were calculated over the whole (p, ρ, T, x) surface. In order to obtain molecular level insight, the behavior of the mixture was also studied by molecular dynamics simulation, using the OPLS-AA force field. The combined analysis of the experimental and simulation results indicates that the peculiar phase behavior of this system stems from a balance between the weak dispersion forces between the hydrogenated and fluorinated groups and a preferential hydrogen bond between ethanol and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. Additionally, it was observed that a 25% reduction of the F-H dispersive interaction in the simulations brings agreement between the experimental and simulated excess enthalpy but produces no effect in the excess volumes. This reveals that the main reason causing the volume increase in these systems is not entirely related to the weak dispersive interactions, as it is usually assumed, and should thus be connected to the repulsive part of the intermolecular potential.

Liquid Mixtures Involving Hydrogenated and Fluorinated Alcohols: Thermodynamics, Spectroscopy, and Simulation.

This article reports a combined thermodynamic, spectroscopic, and computational study on the interactions and structure of binary mixtures of hydrogenated and fluorinated substances that simultaneously interact through strong hydrogen bonding. Four binary mixtures of hydrogenated and fluorinated alcohols have been studied, namely, (ethanol + 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE)), (ethanol + 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-1-butanol), (1-butanol (BuOH) + TFE), and (BuOH + 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-1-butanol). Excess molar volumes and vibrational spectra of all four binary mixtures have been measured as a function of composition at 298 K, and molecular dynamics simulations have been performed. The systems display a complex behavior when compared with mixtures of hydrogenated alcohols and mixtures of alkanes and perfluoroalkanes. The combined analysis of the results from different approaches indicates that this results from a balance between preferential hydrogen bonding between the hydrogenated and fluorinated alcohols and the unfavorable dispersion forces between the hydrogenated and fluorinated chains. As the chain length increases, the contribution of dispersion increases and overcomes the contribution of H-bonds. In terms of the liquid structure, the simulations suggest the possibility of segregation between the hydrogenated and fluorinated segments, a hypothesis corroborated by the spectroscopic results. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis of the infrared spectra reveals that the presence of fluorinated groups induces conformational changes in the hydrogenated chains from the usually preferred all-trans to more globular arrangements involving gauche conformations. Conformational rearrangements at the CCOH dihedral angle upon mixing are also disclosed by the spectra.

Probing the Structure of Liquids with 129Xe NMR Spectroscopy: n-Alkanes, Cycloalkanes, and Branched Alkanes

The liquid organization of linear, branched, and cyclic alkanes was studied using atomic (129)Xe as a NMR probe. (129)Xe chemical shifts have been experimentally determined for xenon dissolved in a total of 21 alkanes. In order to allow the comparison of the different solvents at similar thermodynamic conditions, the measurements were performed over a wide range of temperatures, from the melting point of the solvent up to 350 K. The results were rationalized in terms of the density, nature, and organization of the chemical groups within xenons coordination sphere. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations were performed using established atomistic force fields to interpret and clarify the conclusions suggested by the experimental results. The analysis is able to interpret previous results in the literature for ethane and propane at very different experimental conditions.

Excess thermodynamic properties of mixtures involving xenon and light alkanes: a study of their temperature dependence by computer simulation.

As a natural extension of a previous work, excess molar enthalpies and excess molar volumes as a function of composition in a wide range of temperatures have been obtained for binary mixtures of xenon with ethane, propane, and n-butane by Monte Carlo computer simulation. Xenon was modeled by a simple spherical Lennard-Jones potential, and the TraPPE-UA force field was used to describe the n-alkanes. One of the main goals of this study is to investigate the temperature dependence of the excess properties for mixtures of xenon and n-alkanes and, if possible, to supplement the lack of experimental data. For all three systems, the simulation results predicted excess volumes in good agreement with the experimental data. As for the excess enthalpies, in the case of (xenon + ethane), the simulation results confirm the negative experimental result and the weak temperature dependence. In the case of (xenon + propane) and (xenon + n-butane), however, the simulation predicts negative excess enthalpies, but those estimated from experimental data are positive. Both excess volumes and enthalpies display a complex dependence on temperature that in some aspects resembles that found for mixtures of n-alkanes.The structure of the liquid mixtures was also investigated by calculating radial distribution functions [g(αβ)(r)] between each pair of interaction groups for all the binary systems at all temperatures. It is found that the mean distance between xenon and CH(2) groups is systematically higher than the distance between xenon and CH(3). In addition, the number of groups around xenon in the first coordination sphere was calculated and seems to be proportionally more populated by methyl groups than by methylene groups. The results seem to reflect a preferential and stronger interaction between xenon and CH(3), in agreement with previous findings.

On the behavior of solutions of xenon in liquid n-alkanes: solubility of xenon in n-pentane and n-hexane.

The solubility of xenon in liquid n-pentane and n-hexane has been studied experimentally, theoretically, and by computer simulation. Measurements of the solubility are reported for xenon + n-pentane as a function of temperature from 254 to 305 K. The uncertainty in the experimental data is less than 0.15%. The thermodynamic functions of solvation such as the standard Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of solvation have been calculated from Henrys law coefficients for xenon + n-pentane solutions and also for xenon + n-hexane, which were reported in previous work. The results provide a further example of the similarity between the xenon + n-alkane interaction and the n-alkane + n-alkane interactions. Using the SAFT-VR approach we were able to quantitatively predict the experimental solubility for xenon in n-pentane and semiquantitatively that of xenon in n-hexane using simple Lorentz-Berthelot combining rules to describe the unlikely interaction. Henrys constants at infinite dilution for xenon + n-pentane and xenon + n-hexane were also calculated by Monte Carlo simulation using a united atom force field to describe the n-alkane and the Widom test particle insertion method.

Perfluoropolyethers: Development of an All-Atom Force Field for Molecular Simulations and Validation with New Experimental Vapor Pressures and Liquid Densities

A force field for perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) based on the general optimized potentials for liquid simulations all-atom (OPLS-AA) force field has been derived in conjunction with experiments and ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. Vapor pressures and densities of two liquid PFPEs, perfluorodiglyme (CF3-O-(CF2-CF2-O)2-CF3) and perfluorotriglyme (CF3-O-(CF2-CF2-O)3-CF3), have been measured experimentally to validate the force field and increase our understanding of the physical properties of PFPEs. Force field parameters build upon those for related molecules (e.g., ethers and perfluoroalkanes) in the OPLS-AA force field, with new parameters introduced for interactions specific to PFPEs. Molecular dynamics simulations using the new force field demonstrate excellent agreement with ab initio calculations at the RHF/6-31G* level for gas-phase torsional energies (<0.5 kcal mol-1 error) and molecular structures for several PFPEs, and also accurately reproduce experimentally determined densities (<0.02 g cm-3 error) and enthalpies of vaporization derived from experimental vapor pressures (<0.3 kcal mol-1). Additional comparisons between experiment and simulation show that polyethers demonstrate a significant decrease in enthalpy of vaporization upon fluorination unlike related molecules (e.g., alkanes and alcohols). Simulation suggests this phenomenon is a result of reduced cohesion in liquid PFPEs due to a reduction in localized associations between backbone oxygen atoms and neighboring molecules.

Alkane Coiling in Perfluoroalkane Solutions: A New Primitive Solvophobic Effect

In this work, we demonstrate that n-alkanes coil when mixed with perfluoroalkanes, changing their conformational equilibria to more globular states, with a higher number of gauche conformations. The new coiling effect is here observed in fluids governed exclusively by dispersion interactions, contrary to other examples in which hydrogen bonding and polarity play important roles. FTIR spectra of liquid mixtures of n-hexane and perfluorohexane unambiguously reveal that the population of n-hexane molecules in all-trans conformation reduces from 32% in the pure n-alkane to practically zero. The spectra of perfluorohexane remain unchanged, suggesting nanosegregation of the hydrogenated and fluorinated chains. Molecular dynamics simulations support this analysis. The new solvophobic effect is prone to have a major impact on the structure, organization, and therefore thermodynamic properties and phase equilibria of fluids involving mixed hydrogenated and fluorinated chains.